Sick Days

Sick Days

Pay close attention during periods of illness, when stresses on your body can make it difficult to maintain good glucose control.

The body can respond to an illness by sending out stress hormones. These hormones create an environment that resists the action of insulin. As a result, blood glucose levels can become high, sometimes even before the symptoms of the illness itself appear. Or, depending on the circumstances, you may instead experience a drop toward hypoglycemia. You need to be on the lookout for either circumstance.

For this reason, it is important to check your blood glucose levels every two to four hours when you’re ill. If you are using diabetes medications or insulin, you probably need to maintain them-in fact, most patients need significantly more insulin-though you should be in touch with your physician to be sure. It’s equally important to monitor your ketones, and make sure you are eating properly to keep your glucose levels in range. If nausea is present and you can’t eat, you may need to sip small amounts of carb-rich drinks, such as fruit juices or regular soda every hour to prevent hypoglycemia. To keep from getting dehydrated, drink carb-free beverages, like water, plain tea and diet soda.

If clear liquids cannot be held down, you must contact your health care provider for immediate advice.